PORT ANGELES — A Port Hadlock man accused of a crime spree that stretched from Agnew to the FedEx warehouse on Easy Street declared in Clallam County Superior Court that he was “lead (sic) by God to do these crazy things.”
James E. Kingsland, 46, will be arraigned at 9 a.m. Friday in Clallam County Superior Court on five felonies and two gross misdemeanors. He remained in Clallam County Jail on Monday in lieu of $50,000 bail. If he makes bail, Kingsland has been trespassed from any property belonging to either FedEx or Peninsula Friends of Animals.
Kingsland was charged last Wednesday with two counts of second-degree burglary and one count of motor vehicle theft, both Class B felonies. He also was charged with second-degree theft, a Class C felony, in addition to one count of motor vehicle theft and in the alternative, taking a motor vehicle without permission. The latter is a Class C felony.
Kingsland also was charged with one count of second-degree vehicle prowl and third-degree malicious mischief, both gross misdemeanors.
A Class B felony is punishable by a maximum of 10 years imprisonment and/or a $20,000 fine, plus restitution and assessments. A Class C felony is punishable by a maximum of five years imprisonment and/or a $10,000 fine, plus restitution, assessments and court costs.
A gross misdemeanor is punishable by a maximum of 364 days in jail and/or a $5,000 fine, plus restitution, assessments and court costs.
According to the court hearing minutes, “Kingsland makes statement to court that this a path from God. He states he was lead (sic) by God to do these crazy things.”
Kingsland signed his acknowledgement of rights form as “Jesus Christ.”
According to the minutes, “State says he just was released from prison. (Defense attorney Harry) Gasnick responds that he completed drug court through Jefferson County.”
Court records show Kingsland was sentenced to 43 months in prison on March 21, 2022.
The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office stated in a press release that deputies responded at 6:22 a.m. Feb. 26 to a reported burglary at Peninsula Friends of Animals, located just east of milepost 257 on U.S. Highway 101 in Agnew. Video surveillance showed a man arriving in a green Chevrolet Astro van, which was later found to be registered to Kingsland.
Video footage showed a man entering the cat shelter, rifling through cupboards, stealing syringes and leaving a T-shirt inside the building. Then the man allegedly stole a 1989 maroon Chevrolet truck with a matching maroon canopy registered to Peninsula Friends of Animals and left the scene.
Shortly after 9 a.m., sheriff’s deputies responded to the theft of a FedEx delivery truck from the company’s warehouse, located in the first block of Easy Street, east of Port Angeles. A man allegedly started the vehicle without a key, then drove the truck around the property as well as up and down Easy Street before abandoning it on the FedEx property.
The truck was equipped with a dash cam, showing a man inside who later was identified as Kingsland. The video also showed a man allegedly entering other vehicles on the FedEx property and stealing items that included a box of cameras.
The video footage of the man allegedly matched Kingsland’s driver’s license photo, the sheriff’s press release stated.
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Reporter Brian Gawley can be reached at brian.gawley@peninsuladailynews.com.
